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And I don't want to sound
like I'm being judgmental. Maybe it's just my euphoria over finding a
group of artists with Catholic Worker, Green and Living Theatre backgrounds
combined with the fact that I just took my first ever evil corporate job (to
fund my art!) that makes me feel ideological. If you are not selling out
your art, do what you have to do to make enough money to do it well. As
well as you can--as well as you want to. That is not, of course, the same
thing as "living like a republican".
Myself, I've never really been willing
to do all that much for mere money.
"Those poor
kids. So young. So nauseous."
--Krusty the Klown Telethon
for Motion Sickness
My problem is not with Arte
Povera.
It's actually very close to my heart as a method of
working.
My problem is that , paradoxically, Arte Povera costs
money--
sometimes lots of money.
I was just in Italy and
had a chance to go by Pontedera- The Jerzy
Grotowski Workcentre, run
know by Thomas Richards. Their work might
be poor theatre- it might be
basic, elemental, it might be trying to
claim a new theatrical
language-but the theater is quite nice, the
living spaces
well-appointed.... These comforts perhaps, give them
the
possibility of doing poor theatre- of stripping themselves bare
onstage.
Theatre of course should be holy, be a prayer. I
agree, Mitchell.
But I still want it in the most beautiful church I can
find, I want
someone to clean the organ pipes and someone else to make
sure the
stainedglass windows are stunning- and the best choir I
can find.
Not because I have no love for poverty- just the
opposite- I want
the experience to be as holy as possible for as many as
possible- and
how do I speak to them.? Maybe the organist is necessary.
Sometimes
the Equity actress is necessary- not because she's equity, but
because she is the best choice for the role.
I want
a space where I can be governed by soul, by passion, but to
do that , to really follow my theatrical vision, I need access to
resource. 7 people holding signs don't always stand-in for
seven
people on seven TV sets. Reza Abdoh demanded all kinds of
resources
for his work, it didn't make the work less
radical.
Technology is not an enemy . Money is not an
enemy.
Neither money nor technology is an enemy of
prayer.
-brad
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